Programme of the Unit

Transcription

1 MA (Laurea Magistrale) in International Relations and European Studies (LM 52) Teaching unit on Democratic Theory and Governance, cfu 9 Academic year Autumn Semester Programme of the Unit The course aims at developing the analytical skills of students in relation to democratic theory and the normative analysis of public policy. In particular, it focuses on the impact the processes of change responsible for the allegedly passage from 'government' to 'governance' are having on real existing liberal democracies. The course is divided into two parts. The first part introduces the student to the use of analytical models of democracy by discussing four main ideal-types at the centre of current debates in political theory: procedural, aggregative, participatory, deliberative. The second part encourages the student to employ those analytical models to (i) analyse and assess the democratic content of new modes of governance developed in the last three decades and (ii) consider the policy innovations that could strength the legitimacy of liberal democracies. Unit leader: Antonino Palumbo CFU: 9 Course year: first Attendance: non compulsory Although attendance is not compulsory, the unit adopts a 'fast stream evaluation track' for those who will be attending both lectures and seminars for (no less than) 70% of the time. (1) Standard Evaluation: For those who cannot attend teaching, the evaluation with consist in the standard oral exam required by university regulation. The exam will be based on a 'detailed' and 'lengthy' discussion of the three texts listed below: John Rawls, Political Liberalism, Columbia UP, NY. David Held, Models of Democracy, 3 rd ed, Polity Press, Cambridge. Antonino Palumbo, Situating Governance. ECPR Press, Colchester (in press). (2) Fast Stream Evaluation track: (a) Two written essays: the first of 3000 words will give a maximum of 7 points; the second of 5000 words will give a maximum of 13 points (any essay handed in after the deadline will be penalised by 1 point per day). (b) Presentation and discussion of scientific articles at seminars: together with attendance, seminar activities will give a maximum of 10 points; during seminars students will be asked to either give presentations of the reading material or explain points raised in it. NOTE Essays questions will be those used to introduce the weekly topics (see reading list below); As for the seminar presentations, the first essay must be on one of the topics discussed in the first part of the course, whereas the second essay has to be concerned with those discussed in the second part. 1

2 Suspected cases of plagiarism will be assessed with a further oral examination. Those found out to have willingly used other people's works, ideas or opinions without proper acknowledgment will be referred to the university proceedings on the matter. In case of uncertainty upon what constitute plagiarism, students are invited to consult the course leader. Final evaluation marks will range from 18/30 (pass) to 30/30 cum laude (A*); for fast stream students, the final mark will be the total sum of the scores received for each single assessment. Teaching timetable: October to December. Monday 10:00-12:00 (room 8), Tuesday 10:00-12:00 (room 8), Wednesday 10:00-12:00 (room 8). Individual tutorials need to be agreed with the course leader by antonino.palumbo@unipa.it EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE Knowledge and understanding Ability to critically analyse values, institutions and policies pursued in liberal democratic societies. Capacity to understand and assess the normative implications of public intervention through new modes of governance. Application of Knowledge and understanding Ability to analyse and evaluate discourses, narratives and arguments employed to justify social and political change as well as the ability of public policies chosen to accomplish those objectives. Personal Autonomy Ability to apply abstract analytical categories to the study of real world cases and forms of governance; to arrive at personal and novel perspectives on public affairs and policies; to devise alternative forms of intervention. Communicative skills Ability to communicate the results of one's own research to expert and lay people alike; to support adequately personal positions, statements and perspectives; to take on board sensible and disinterested suggestions and constructive criticisms. Self-development Ability to carry out research in applied ethics, political theory and new modes of governance autonomously and professionally; to connect with others operating in similar or complementary fields; to develop a personal but open-minded approach to the analysis collective action problems in complex and pluralistic democratic societies. Teaching methodology and structure of the unit The course is structured into two parts composed of five thematic units each. A thematic unit will covered in a week of six teaching hours and is divided in: a two-hour introductory lecture by the unit leader at the beginning of the week; two seminars of two hours each held in the remaining teaching days. Seminars will be composed of two main parts: in part one, a rotating number of students will introduce the papers indicated in the reading list; in part two, everyone is required to take part in the discussion of those papers. All participants to the seminars are required to read the papers indicated beforehand. Overall, the course will last ten weeks, for a grand total of 63 teaching hours. 2

3 Schedule & table of content Starting week (Monday 5 th October Wednesday 7 th October) Introduction to the course: goals, programme and assessment criteria; assessment of individual abilities and background, suggestion of background reading to fill up individual gaps. Each Wednesday will be a formal lecture introducing the topic discussed in the following week, on the 7 th the topic of the lecture will be: Democracy: meanings and models. 2nd week (Monday 12 th October Wednesday 14 th October) Lecture topic: Democracy: meanings and models Questions for the first essay: What is democracy? What are its origins, features and lines of evolution? What is the reason for modelling democracy? Are the models employed heuristic or normative tools? Habermas, J. (1994), "Three Normative Models of Democracy", Constellations 1, 1, pp Gutmann, A. (2007), "Democracy". In A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy. R.E.Goodin, P. Pettit and T. Pogge (eds.). Volume I, 2nd Edition. Blackwell, Oxford, pp Benn, S.I. and Peters, R.S. (1959), "Democracy". In Social Principles and the Democratic State. George Allen and Unwin, London, cap. 15, pp Bourke, R. (2008), "Enlightenment, Revolution and Democracy", Constellations 15, 1, pp Gabardi, W. (2001), "Contemporary Models of Democracy", Polity 33, 4, pp Hanson, R. (1989), "Democracy. In Political Innovation and Conceptual Change. T. Ball, J. Farr and R.L. Hanson (eds.). Cambridge: CUP, pp Heywood, A. (1994), "Democracy, Representation and the Public Interest". In Political Ideas and Concepts. McMillan, London, pp Macpherson, C.B. (1977), The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. OUP, Oxford, pp Raphael, D.D. (1990), "Democracy". In Problems of Political Philosophy. Macmillan, London, pp Schmitter, P. and Karl, T.L. (1991), "What Democracy Is... and What It Is Not", Journal of Democracy 2, pp Wollheim, R. (1958), "Democracy", Journal of the History of Ideas 19, 2, pp rd week (Monday 19 th October Wednesday 21 st October) Lecture topic: Procedural conceptions of democracy Questions for the first essay: Is democracy a procedural or a substantive notion? What are the procedures that characterise democracy as a system of government? Are these procedures related to the definition of public policies, or simply a way to select those who are called to rule? Is representative democracy true democracy? Kelsen, H. (1945), "Democracy and Autocracy". In Id., General Theory of Law and State. Tr. by A. Wedberg. New York: Russell & Russell, pp Schumpeter, J. (1976), Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. Allen & Unwin, London. Cap. XXI, XXII, XXIII. 3

4 Barry, B. (1979), "Is Democracy Special?" In Philosophy, Politics and Society, 5th ser., P. Laslett and J.S. Fishkin (ed.) Oxford: Basil Blackwell,, pp Castoriadis, C. (1997), "Democracy as Procedure and Democracy as Regime", Constellations 4, 1, pp Dahl, R.A. (1979) "Procedural Democracy". In Philosophy, Politics and Society, 5th ser., P. Laslett and J.S. Fishkin (ed.). Basil Blackwell, Oxford, pp Hirst, P. (1988), "Representative Democracy and Its Limits", Political Quarterly 59, 2, pp Kateb, G. (1981), "The Moral Distinctiveness of Representative Democracy", Ethics 91, 3, pp Gordon, N. (2001). Dahl's Procedural Democracy: A Foucauldian Critique. Democratization, 8(4), Ober, J. (2008), "The Original Meaning of 'Democracy': Capacity to Do Things, not Majority Rule", Constellations 15, 1, pp Pitkin, H.F. (1989), "Representation In Political Innovation and Conceptual Change. T. Ball, J. Farr and R.L. Hanson (eds.) Cambridge: CUP, pp Urbinati, N. and Warren, M.E. (2008), "The Concept of Representation in Contemporary Democratic Theory", Annual Review of Political Science 11, pp th week (Monday 26 th October Wednesday 28 th October) Lecture topic: Aggregative conceptions of democracy Questions for the first essay: Must democratic choice be related to individual preferences? Has democracy have to maximise some social utility function? Can democracy be a coherent mechanism for social choice? Are there any similarities between political and economic markets? Arrow, K.J. (1950), "A Difficulty in the Concept of Social Welfare", Journal of Political Economy 58, 4, pp Downs, A. (1957), "An Economic Theory of Political Action in Democracy", Journal of Political Economy 65, 2, pp Beetham, D. (1993), "Four Theorems about the Market and Democracy", European Journal of Political Research 23, pp Coleman, J. and Ferejohn, J. (1986), "Democracy and Social Choice", Ethics 97, 1, pp Elster, J. (1989), "The Market and the Forum. Three Varieties of Political Theory". In Foundations of Social Choice Theory. J. Elster, and A. Hylland, (eds.). CUP Cambridge, pp Grofman, B. and Feld, S.L. (1988), "Rousseau's General Will: A Condorcetian Perspective", American Political Science Review 82, 2, pp Pateman, C. (1986), "Social Choice or Democracy? A Comment on Coleman and Ferejohn", Ethics 97, 1, pp Petracca, M.P. (1991), "The Rational Choice Approach to Politics: A Challenge to Democratic Theory", Review of Politics 53, 2, pp Radcliff, B. (1992), "The General Will and Social Choice Theory", Review of Politics 54, 1, pp Riker, W. (1982), Liberalism against Populism. W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, pp. 1-19, th week (Monday 2 nd November Wednesday 4 th November) Lecture topic: Participatory conceptions of democracy 4

5 Questions for the first essay: What values is political participation supposed to engender? Is widespread political participation desirable? Is it also feasible in modern nation states? Is it possible to devise new forms of democratic participation that can bring to life the Athenian ideal? Are the limits imputed to participatory democracy merely physical? Can these limits be overcome by information and computing technologies? Barber, B. 1984, "Strong Democracy Politics as a Way of living". In Strong Democracy. UCP, Berkeley, pp Fung, A. (2006), "Varieties of Participation in Complex Governance", Public Administration Review 66, s1, pp Christiano, T. (1996), "Is the Participation Argument Self-Defeating?", Philosophical Studies 82, 1, pp Lupia, A. and Matsusaka, J.G. (2004), "Direct Democracy: New Approaches to Old Questions", Annual Review of Political Science 7, pp Macpherson, C.B. (1977), "Participatory Democracy". In The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. pp Pateman, C. (1970), Participation and Democratic Theory. CUP, Cambridge, pp Przeworski, A. (2009), "Self-Government in Our Times", Annual Review of Political Science 12, pp Talisse, R.B. (2007), "Can Democracy Be a Way of Life?" In A Pragmatist Philosophy of Democracy. London: Routledge, pp Warren, M. (2002), "What Can Democratic Participation Mean Today?", Political Theory 30, 5, pp Wolfe, J.D. (1985), "A Defense of Participatory Democracy", Review of Politics 47, 3, pp th week (Monday 9 th November Wednesday 11 th November) Lecture topic: Deliberative conceptions of democracy Questions for the first essay: What does deliberative democracy stands for? Isn't deliberation just the outcome of a voting procedure? What is the role of individual preferences in a deliberative context? Is deliberative democracy compatible with liberal democracy? Does deliberative democracy supports new forms of participation or technocratic solutions? Cohen, J. (1989), "Deliberation and Democratic Legitimacy". In The Good Polity. A. Hamlin and P. Pettit (eds.). Blackwell, Oxford, pp Manin, B. (1987), "On Legitimacy and Political Deliberation", Political Studies 15, pp Ackerman, B. and Fishkin, J.S. (2002), "Deliberation Day", Journal of Political Philosophy 10, 2, pp Benhabib, S. (1996), "Toward a Deliberative Model of Democratic Legitimacy". In Democracy and Difference. S. Benhabib (ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp Bohman, J. (1998), "The Coming of Age of Deliberative Democracy", Journal of Political Philosophy 6, 4, pp Chambers, S. (2003), "Deliberative Democratic Theory", Annual Review of Political Science 6, pp

6 Dryzek, J.S. (2002), "Liberal Democracy and the Critical Alternative". In Deliberative Democracy and Beyond. OUP, Oxford, pp Estlund, D. (1997), "The Epistemic Dimension of Democratic Authority", The Modern Schoolman LXXIV, 4, May, pp Knight, J. and Johnson, J. (1994), "Aggregation and Deliberation: On the Possibility of Democratic Legitimacy", Political Theory 22, 2, pp Miller, D. (1993), "Deliberative Democracy and Social Choice", In Prospects for Democracy. D. Held (ed.). Polity, Cambridge, pp Palumbo, A. (2011), "La democrazia deliberativa dalla svolta epistemica all'inversione democratica". In La politica fra verità e immaginazione. A. Ferrara (ed.). Mimesis, Milano. Young, I.M. (2000), "Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy." Political Theory 29, 5, pp deadline 1 st essay: Sunday 15 th of November 24:00 hrs 7th week (Monday 16 th November Wednesday 18 th November) Lecture topic: Transforming democracy Questions for the second essay: Is globalisation undermining liberal democracy or engendering it? Several thinkers claim that we are moving towards a post-democratic age, but what post-democracy actually mean? Is there a relation between the inception of a post-democratic age and the neoliberal reforms of the state? Does post-democracy foster democratisation or de-democratisation? Crouch, C. (2013), "From Markets versus States to Corporations versus Civil Society?". In Politics in the Age of Austerity. W. Streeck and A. Schafer (eds.). Cambridge: Polity Press, pp Scholte, J. A. (2014), "Reinventing global democracy", European Journal of International Relations 20, 1, pp Barber, B. (2000), "Can Democracy Survive Globalization?", Government and Opposition 35, 3, pp Cerny, P.G. (1999) "Globalization and the Erosion of Democracy", European Journal of Political Research 36, pp Mastropaolo, A. (2001) "Democrazia, neodemocrazia, postdemocrazia: tre paradigmi a confronto", Diritto pubblico comparato ed europeo 4, pp Olsen, J.P. (2009) "Democratic Government, Institutional Autonomy and the Dynamics of Change", West European Politics 32, 3, pp Palumbo, A. (2011), "Stato, globalizzazione e governance: retorica, contraddizioni, paradossi", in Id. La polity reticolare. Analisi e critica della governance come teoria. XL Edizioni, Roma, Scharpf, F. (2000), "Interdependence and Democratic Legitimation". In Disaffected Democracies. S.J. Pharr and R.D. Putnam (eds.). Princeton: Princeton University Press,, pp Streeck, W "The Crises of Democratic Capitalism", New Left Review 71 sept oct, pp Wolf, K-D. (1999), "The New Raison d Etat as a Problem for Democracy in World Society", European Journal of International Relations 5, 3, pp th week (Monday 23 rd November Wednesday 25 th November) Lecture topic: Democracy and governance Questions for the second essay: Governance is a label used to describe several processes of change, but what is the impact those changes can have on democracy? What are the democratic visions 6

7 upheld by governance theorists? Is governance supporting new forms of democratic experimentation? Or is it also contributing to the hollowing out real existing democratic institutions? What is stakeholder's democracy and what features distinguish it from liberal democracy? Warren, M.E. (2009), "Governance-driven Democratization", Critical Policy Studies 3, 1, pp Bevir, M. (2006), "Democratic Governance: Systems and Radical Perspectives", Public Administration Review 66, 3, pp Bingham, L.B., Nabatchi, T. and O Leary, R. (2005), "The New Governance: Practices and Processes for Stakeholder and Citizen Participation in the Work of Government". Public Administration Review 65, 5, pp Hirst, P. (2000), "Democracy and Governance". In Debating Governance. J. Pierre (ed.). OUP, Oxford, pp Klijn, E.H. and Skelcher C. (2007), "Democracy and Governance Networks: Compatible or Not?", Public Administration 85, 3, pp Palumbo, A. (2010), "Beyond the Post-war Schumpeterian Consensus. Governance, Legitimacy and Post-Democracy", Critical Policy Studies 4, 4, pp Sabel, C. (2001), "A Quiet Revolution of Democratic Governance: Towards Democratic Experimentalism". In Governance in the 21st Century. OECD ( Paris, pp Somerville, P. (2005), "Community Governance and Democracy", Policy & Politics 33, 1, pp Sørensen, E. and Torfing, J. (2005), "The Democratic Anchorage of Governance Networks", Scandinavian Political Studies 28, 3, pp Vink, E. (2007), "Multi-level Democracy: Deliberative or Agonistic? The Search for Appropriate Normative Standards", Journal of European Integration 29, 3, pp th week (Monday 30 th November Wednesday 2 nd December) Lecture topic: Democracy and EU governance Questions for the second essay: Is the European Union democratic? Compare EU and member state constitutional settings and their democratic content. What does EU democratic deficit mean? Is there a real democratic deficit and where is it located? Can the EU overcame such a deficit by adopting the institutional features of its state members? Joerges, C. and Neyer, J. (1997), "From Intergovernmental Bargaining to Deliberative Political Processes: The Constitutionalisation of Comitology", European Law Journal 3, 3, pp Smismans, S. (2008), "New Modes of Governance and the Participatory Myth", West European Politics 31, 5, pp Bellamy, R. (2006), "Still in Deficit: Rights, Regulation, and Democracy in the EU", European Law Review 12, 6, pp Brunkhorst, H. (2006), "The Legitimation Crisis of the European Union", Constellations 13, 2, pp

8 Héritier, A. (1999), "Elements of Democratic Legitimation in Europe: an Alternative Perspective", Journal of European Public Policy 6, 2, pp MacCormick, N. (1997), "Democracy, Subsidiarity, and Citizenship in the 'European Commonwealth'", Law and Philosophy 16, pp Moravcsik, A. (2002), "In Defense of the 'Democratic Deficit': Reassessing the Legitimacy of the European Union", Journal of Common Market Studies 40, 4, pp Sabel, C.F. and Zeitlin, J. (2008), "Learning from Difference: the New Architecture of Experimentalist Governance in the European Union", European Law Journal 14, 3, pp Schmidt, V. (2004), "The European Union: Democratic Legitimacy in a Regional State?" Journal of Common Market Studies 42, 5, pp Wiener, A. and Della Sala, V. (1997), "Constitution-making and Citizenship Practice Bridging the Democracy Gap in the EU?", Journal of Common Market Studies 35, 4, pp th week (Monday 7 th December Wednesday 9 th December) Lecture topic: Transnational democracy Questions for the second essay: is transnational democracy possible? What form can assume this type of democracy: participatory, representative, aggregative, or deliberative? Is there a global civil society upon which transnational forms of democracy can be grounded? Is it plausible to expect the development of a global civil society? Dryzek, J.S. (1999), "Transnational Democracy", Journal of Political Philosophy 7, 1, pp Bohman, J. (2005), "From Demos to Demoi: Democracy across Borders", Ratio Juris 18, 3, pp Cohen, J. and Sabel, C.F. (2005), "Global Democracy?", NYU Journal of International Law and Politics 37, 4, pp Eichenberger, R. and Frey, B. (2002), "Democratic Governance for a Globalized World", Kyklos 55, 2, pp Keohane, R. 2003, "Global Governance and Democratic Accountability". In The Global Governance Reader. R. Wilkinson (ed.). Routledge, London, pp Patomäki, H. (2003), "Problems of Democratizing Global Governance: Time, Space and the Emancipatory Process", European Journal of International Relations 9, 3, pp Scheuermann, W.E. (2004), "Democratic Experimentalism or Capitalist Synchronization? Critical Reflections on Directly-Deliberative Polyarchy", Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 17, pp Schmalz-Bruns, R. (2001), "The Postnational Constellation: Democratic Governance in the Era of Globalization", Constellations 8, 4, pp Scholte, J. A. (2002), "Civil Society and Democracy in Global Governance", Global Governance 8, 3, pp Smith, W. and Brassett, J. (2008), "Deliberation and Global Governance: Liberal, Cosmopolitan, and Critical Perspectives", Ethics and International Affairs 22, 1, pp Closing week (Monday 14 th December Wednesday 16 th December) Summary of the course and feedback from students 2nd essay deadline: Sunday 20th of December 24:00 hrs. 8